Minimum Wage: Labour Settles For N66,500 Nationwide

The organised labour on Thursday in Lagos asked for a new minimum wage of N66,500 for all workers in the country.

The organised labour made the demand at the ‘Public Hearing on National Minimum Wage for Nigerian Workers,’ organised by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage for the South-West zone in Alausa, Ikeja.

Presenting the memoranda of the Nigerian Labour Congress, and the Trade Union Congress, Agnes Sessi, the chairman, Political Committee, NLC, Lagos State, said the current wage structure could not sustain any worker.

According to her, the two labour bodies had agreed that there should be an upward review of the minimum wage to meet the current economic realities.

She said, “Based on the current realities, the two labour unions want a new monthly national minimum wage of N66,500, which is approximately the average of the implied minimum wages derived under three approaches.”

“The approaches are: Comparative analysis based on minimum wages in some African countries, an estimate of the monthly minimum cost of providing basic needs to a family of six and two dependants, as well as an analysis based on rising cost of living over time.”

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Lagos branch, aligned with the NLC and TUC in asking for N66,500 new minimum wage.

The spokesperson for the association, Akeem Kazeem, said the upward review of the national minimum wage was long overdue.

In his address, the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, represented by the state Head of Service, Folasade Adesoye, said there was the need for workers to be reasonably remunerated.

“The issue, however, which I believe is more peculiar to the public sector, is striking a balance between what goes into recurrent expenditure — of which salaries and allowances are a major component — and the ability of government to fulfil its obligations to the larger society.”

He said stakeholders should be flexible in their demands in the overall interest of everyone.

Earlier, the Chairman, Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage and the Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Col. Samaila Dabai (retd.), said the tripartite committee would still organise more public hearings.